The newly revised edition of Origin by Design provides encouragement for those Christians who believe that the Biblical account of earth’s history is the ultimate authority against which all theories of origins should be tested.

Although none of the authors are geologists, paleontologists, or theologians, the years they have spent working at the Geoscience Research Institute as research scientists and educators has provided them with a fundamental knowledge of the issues presented in these areas (Sections I, II & III). The book is remarkable in that there is a considerable amount of data and numerous specific deposits cited that provide evidence consistent with the Genesis Flood. However, this broad overview will cause trained geologists and paleontologists to take exception to their arguments because the authors address only a few of the deposits that do not fit the prevalent theories. To their credit it must be mentioned that the authors have clearly stated, “. . . we lack the proof to conclusively establish the validity of a world catastrophe by water.”

Chapter 24 on “The Origin of Humans” makes brief comments on the basic groups purportedly either in or out of the human lineage. However, the authors miss a golden opportunity to discuss the variety of theories within paleoanthropology.

In Section IV, it is doubtful that geologists and geochronologists would find the arguments (which do have some merit) regarding radiometric dating convincing because they believe they can explain the objections raised by the authors. Unfortunately, the authors do not address the concordant dates within the fossil record that correlate well with the fossil dates worldwide and for a good reason: We do not have an answer for this particular information. The book ends with Section V and a discussion of the major biological issues, areas in which two of the authors are very well trained.

The book is well written and an interesting read. It seems designed, not to refute all arguments, but to provide thought provoking information and to promote the biblical account of earth history.